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Regions in Italy go Campania go Province of Avellino go Mercogliano
Province of Avellino

Mercogliano, Campania, Italy

Mercogliano, among beech and chestnut woods, is located at the feet of the Partenio Mountain (1493) and is a delightful place, where many pilgrims stop on their way up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Montevergine. It is surrounded by the hills of Campo Summonte, Campo Virgilio, Campo Maggiore, Campo San Giovanni and Toppa Coruzzo.

The name comes from Castrum Mercurianum, a Lombard castle built on a temple dedicated to Mercury and destroyed in a terrible fire in 1656; its ruins, recently restored, can be visited today. The origin of Mercogliano goes back to the last decade of the 6th century, when the Lombards invaded Southern Italy. A refugee population from Abellinum in order to hide from the Lombards, settled down on one of the hills of Mercogliano. The name of the place was first mentioned in a document of 982 AD. The fiefdom was part of the county of Avellino, whose first lord was Ruggiero of Aquila, who received the town and the Abbey of Montevergine with a donation from king Frederick II (mid-13th century). Later on the abbots were the feudla lords of Mercogliano. Between 1861 and 1866 the Abbey of Montevergine lost all its power and became a national monument.

spazio

spazio

Info

Altitude: 550 m a.s.l Territory: mountainous * Population: ca. 11430 inhabitants -- Zip/postal code: 83013 -- Phone Area Code: 0825 * How to reach it: Autostrada Napoli - Bari, exit Avellino Ovest * Patron Saint: San Modestino, San Fiorentino, San Flaviano * Frazioni & Localities: Montevergine, Torelli, Torrette, Alvanella, Capo Castello, Loreto

What to see

  • Il Borgo Antico: Capocastello, ruins of the medieval castle and the boundary walls of the town, with the saints door with frescoes of St. Martin, San Fiorentino and San Flaviano.
  • Sanctuary of Montevergine. In only seven minutes the cableway takes you straight to the Sanctuary founded by hermit San Guglielmo from Vercelli in 1119
  • The Abbey of Loreto. Inside a painting of S. Francis by Guido Reni, a magnificent altar piece by De Maio and leather panels in the chorus by Mario Volpe.

Accommodation in Mercogliano

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